Page 28 of Deck the Halls with Cowboys
“Yeah, well with the storm, I don’t think you’ll be able to help him out of this one,” I noted, tucked a curl behind my ear.
Eddie and Jackie were supposed to fly up yesterday, but their flight out of Dallas had been delayed, and now they probably wouldn’t be here until after Christmas.
“I don’t know why you let him take that responsibility.”
I reached out and fidgeted with Denver’s signature mug, moving it from its spot by the coffee maker. “You know Mase. He got that cocky look in his eye and said he could do it.”
Eddie howled with laughter. “And youbelieved him?”
I huffed. “First of all, he’ll spot the biggest bull on tour, look at me with that same cocky gleam, tell me he is going to ride it for eight seconds, and then ride it for nine,” I practically hissed.
Eddie was too far gone now, his laughter filling my ear as I glared up at Den and Val’s pretty green cabinets.
I should’ve called Billie and Cabe, their winter vacation in Scotland be damned. Or heck, even Mason’s PR manager, Pam.
“Is that Harmony?” Jackie, Eddie’s wife, yelled in the background. “Give me that phone, Eddie!”
“Woman, I’m talkin’ to her about important things!” he yelled back so loudly that I had to pull the phone away. “Mason fucked up the Christmas ham and Denver is gonna kill him!”
I winced, rubbing my ear. “Jeez, Eddie! Just tell the entire world, why don’t you?”
“Oh, if you don’t think I’m bringing this up on the next PBR tour, you got another thing coming, Harm. This is gold! The cowboy who can’t be thrown also cannot kill a ham for shit.” He roared with laughter again.
“Eddie, I didn’t call you to discuss that stupid ham,” I whispered hotly.
“Right,” he muttered, his laughter subsiding. “So, about y’all’s gift—”
“Eddie?” Denver parroted from behind me. “Is that Eddie on the line, Harm?”
My spine snapped straight. “Uh.”
“Is Harm on the phone with Eddie?” my husband called out from somewhere in the house.
I looked out the window, hating how, after years here, I still wasn’t used to the cold. Which was why I hadn’t gone outside to make this stupid, clearly unproductive phone call.
Eddie continued rambling. “Look, I know we aren’t going to make it for Christmas, but you and Mase don’t have to wait. I know you wanted to be there when you two announced—”
The phone was ripped out of my hand then. “Hey!” I whirled around to find my brother-in-law putting my hot pink phone against his ear.
“Hey, man. Are you and Jackie still coming down?” he asked.
“I was having a conversation,” I grumbled.
Denver shot me a wink and moved away.
I’d been an only child and when Mason brought me to Hallow Ranch, things were iffy between them. We’d come here to stop my ex from trying to buy this land, but somewhere in the middle of the chaos, the Langston brothers had found their way back to each other. When Denver had called me “sis” for the first time, I wanted to cry. Now, when my brother-in-law did crap like this, I wanted to bop him over the head with the flour-coated rolling pin in Valerie’s hand.
“Denver, give me my phone.”
“No.”
I looked at Valerie, throwing my hand out. “A little help would be nice.”
Her lips twitched before she pressed them together, trying to suppress a giggle. “What do you want me to do?”
“He is your husband,” Diana chimed in.
Mase came into the kitchen, NJ on his hip, a huge Christmas bow on top of his head. That was my husband, my big and fierce bull rider, wearing a red glitter bow instead of a cowboy hat. After the cowboys had discovered the truth about our girl dinner sessions, we got to work. Mason told everyone he was on “fun uncle duty” and retired to the living room to play with NJ. His stormy eyes met mine, and instead of his usual cockiness, love was shining in them. Those eyes scanned me up and down as they always did when he spotted me, silently checking to make sure I was okay. It was more of a habit than anything else. We were home, the safest place on earth for me. I gave him a reassuring nod before his attention moved to his older brother. Slowly, as NJ babbled and clapped in his arms, his brows came together, watching Denver pace in front of the island.
